Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank Announces Stablecoin Services For Cross-Border Payments
Thailand's oldest commercial bank, Siam Commercial Bank, has introduced stablecoin services to enhance cross-border payments and remittances.
SCB also disclosed its partnership with Lightnet and Fireblocks, a fintech company, to foster international payments and handle custody needs.
Moreover, SCM's latest plan is the country's first use case of stablecoins for international payments in its traditional financial sector.
SCB To Offer Stablecoin-Based Cross-Border Payments And Remittance ServicesSiam Commercial Bank, Thailand's oldest commercial bank, announced that it has introduced stablecoin services for its customers. According to the bank, this inclusion is part of its plan to introduce cross-border payments and remittances.
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), the fourth largest bank in Thailand, has become the first financial institution in the country to offer stablecoin-based cross-border payments and remittance services. The stablecoin-based service will allow customers to send and receive payments...
- Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 17, 2024
Further, SCB revealed its collaboration with the fintech firm Lightnet and Fireblocks to facilitate cross-border remittances. The deal will also help to tackle the infrastructure and custody needs for its international payment services.
Moreover, the bank acknowledged that the project took part in the Bank of Thailand's regulatory sandbox and has become fully commercialized.
In addition, SCM said its new services will boost capital efficiency by cutting off pre-funding between partners. Integrating stablecoins services will enable clients to easily send or receive transactions 24/7 globally at reduced costs.
Notably, cost efficiency is one of the key attractions for those who receive or make payments in higher-value currencies.
CEO of Lightnet Tridbodi Arunanondchai reacted to the collaboration and stablecoin services. The CEO stated: This solution will provide significant improvements to customers' experience in cross-border money transfers and will lower transaction time and cost and be accessible on a 24/7 basis."
Further, the CEO explained that the project enhances financial inclusion by allowing a lower capital requirement for each transaction. Also, Arunanondchai said the project offers unique value propositions to institutional and retail customers.
Notably, SCB has tested its stablecoin services on the Bank of Thailand's regulatory sandbox. This security mechanism offers financial institutions the platform to explore the potential of digital assets within flexible regulations.
SCB was founded in 1907 and is Thailand's oldest and fourth-largest commercial bank. It is the country's first traditional financial institution to offer stablecoin services.
Increasing Use Of Stablecoins As Store Of Values And RemittancesStablecoins, especially those pegged to fiat, such as the US dollar, have recorded increased use in remittances. Some investors in different regions use US dollar-denominated stablecoins as a store of value.
They leverage the coins' stability to preserve their purchasing power against some local currencies that are susceptible to inflation.
According to a recent report by Chainalysis, stablecoins represent almost 43% of the total crypto transaction volume in Sub-Saharan Africa. The blockchain analytics company covered its report between June 2023 and June 2024.
Also, Chainalysis indicated that stablecoins account for more than 50% of digital asset remittances to Venezuela since this year. A similar trend has been observed in other countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia.
Meanwhile, stablecoins boast a market cap of over $172 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Their trading volume is over $70.89 billion, accounting for over 90% of the total crypto market 24-hour volume.
Tether USDT remains the most dominant stablecoin with a market cap of about $119 billion. The second and third-largest stablecoins are USD Coin (USDC) and DAI, with market caps of $34.81 billion and $5.36 billion, respectively.
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